Religious Counseling, Indefinite Detention, and Flawed Trials

August 10, 2009

This 27-page report documents Saudi Arabia's response to threats and acts of terrorism since 2003, including the indefinite detentions of thousands of people, some of them peaceful political dissidents. The domestic intelligence agency, the mabahith, which runs its own prisons, has prevented effective judicial oversight. Saudi Arabia should ensure the right to judicial review for anyone detained, and the right to a fair trial for anyone charged with a crime, the report says.

The United States and United Kingdom closely cooperate with Saudi counterterrorism officials, publicly praising their religious reeducation program, but have not criticized either the indefinite detention of thousands of people or the flawed trials of 330 suspects in July. Several thousand of those detained under counterterrorism efforts remain in prisons throughout the country.